HISTORY OF PLEASANT GROVE UTAH

It's always a good idea to find out, as much as possible, about the history of a place before venturing there, whether you're planning a vacation for you or the entire family, simply driving through, or even planning to move in. 

Learning about a place can help you attain sufficient knowledge of the layout of the land, which can come in handy when you're looking to find the best spots to chill or hang out.

It can also grant you instant acceptance and credibility among the locals, not to mention prevent you from inadvertently contravening those sacred customs which residents hold so dear. 

Today, we're beaming the spotlight on history of Pleasant Grove, Utah. 

Pleasant Grove is also known as Utah's City of Trees and is located twelve miles northwest of Provo and thirty-six miles southeast of Salt Lake City, in an area known as the Provo-Orem Metropolitan Statistical Area.

This city has a long and compelling history which might interest you to know. 

If you're a visitor to Pleasant Grove, this post can give you enough knowledge to start up conversations and create an impression with locals on your next visit. 

For locals, you can claim bragging rights among your friends and neighbours after reading this post. 

So, let's explore the history of this remarkable town together. 

Population and Land Mass

The 2016 U.S. Census Bureau recorded Pleasant Grove's population as 38,756, which makes it the fifth-largest city in Utah County by population. 

However, in terms of landmass, Pleasant Grove only comes in at number thirteen. Pleasant Grove's 9.18 square miles is smaller than twelve other Utah County towns and cities. 

Perhaps as a direct consequence of this, Pleasant Grove has the second-highest population density, with 3,655 people per square mile. 

How It Came About Its Name

Pleasant Grove was called "Mepha" or "Little Waters" by Ute Indians who were the first inhabitants of the area. 

Later, precisely on the 13th day of September 1850, an expedition of Mormons found the area's potential for agriculture to their liking and decided to settle, staking out farms for themselves.

As you can imagine, the Indians didn't take too kindly to this, and a long period of conflict (known as the Walker Indian War) between them and the pioneer Mormons ensued. 

For their own protection and safety, the settlers built a fort and situated their city within the fort. 

The fort at first contained only a few buildings and a corral, but as the city grew, more and more buildings were added, including a meeting house and a school. 

Unfortunately, this fort is no longer in existence, but there are monuments marking its location. 

The bloodiest battle between these feuding factions was fought in 1849, and it inadvertently gave this budding community its first name. 

The cause of this particular conflict was a herd of horses which the Mormon settlers believed were stolen by the Utes. 

The horses were recovered before the battle commenced, but that didn't make a difference. After this battle, the area became known as Battle Creek. 

Later, the settlers became unenchanted with the negative connotations of this name and decided to ditch it in favour of something more aesthetically pleasing. 

Luckily, there was a grove of cottonwood trees situated between Battle Creek and Grove Creek (now Locust Avenue and Battle Creek Drive), and that was how the city came to be known as Pleasant Grove. On January 19, 1855, the city was incorporated. 

Earliest Settlers

According to historical sources, the town was first discovered by Mormon explorers on July 19, 1850. 

William H. Adams, John Mercer and Philo T. Farnsworth were Mormons, sent by Brigham Young, who first set foot in the area. 

As the numbers increased, a mushroom community was created on September 13, 1850. By the time the community was officially incorporated, the numbers had swelled to 624 people. 

When the first municipal elections were held in May 1855, Henson Walker emerged as the first mayor. 

Earliest Towns

With such stalwart towns as Little Denmark, Mud Hole, Manila, Big Spring and Monkey Town, Pleasant Grove has a unique history, which is still largely represented today.

In earliest times, these names were used to describe certain sections of the community and things that happened there. 

For instance, Little Denmark was the area mapped out for Scandinavian settlers after their influx into Pleasant Grove. 

Mud Hole was the entertainment hub, and was the earliest highbrow area, while Monkey Town was where the young people congregated to "monkey around" and sow their wild oats. 

Industry and Merchandise

Due to the richness of the soil, farming was the major occupation in Pleasant Grove, with very limited industry. 

Beets and berries were especially prominent, and between the 1920s and1950s, Pleasant Grove was a major producer of strawberries, even establishing the Strawberry Days celebration, which still lasts up till today. 

The celebration is acclaimed as the longest established celebration in Utah. 

The large-scale production of strawberries and other crops such as tomatoes, corn, green beans and peas was facilitated by the establishment of the Pleasant Grove Cannery in 1915. 

As time passed and focus shifted from agriculture to industrialization, farming was deemphasized and today, only a few traces of the city's agriculture heritage remain. 

Famous People

Pleasant Grove has its own fair share of famous sons and daughters. 

Todd Herzog, winner of the 2007 edition of Survivor: China, was born and raised in Pleasant Grove. 

Others include Quinn Allman, who is a founding member of The Used,  C.J. Wilcox, a shooting guard for the Orlando Magic, and Dane Iorg, a former Major League Baseball player and World Series Champion. 

Pleasant Grove has also been used as a filming location for the 1995 Universal's film Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain.

Final Words

With a booming population, comfortable standard of living, low crime rate and multicultural communities, Pleasant Grove has emerged as one of the most eligible places to live in Utah. Other great roofing Contractors